Now “no one” may be a bit extreme, but if only 3% to 6% of your posts are reaching your Facebook community, that sound is just not loud enough.

It’s been suggested that the recent addition of this data is meant to illustrate how many people brands are not reaching, thus prompting marketers to consider Facebook’s Reach Generator.

The Reach Generator, which sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, guarantees that you’ll reach 75% of your fans each month and an estimated 50% of your fans each week.

Although I believe that the investment in Facebook advertising is a worthwhile one, I also believe that it’s vital to put your best post forward to boost your reach organically.

There’s no reason not to follow best practices before jumping into paid media. After all, you should be doing all you can to organically improve your reach and penetration into your community’s newsfeeds before leveraging paid media.

Here are a few tips and tricks to keep front-of-mind to grow your content from a whisper that only a few people can hear, to a dialogue that many people participate in.

Variety

Social Media is a marketing channel that mimics real life, and while there is comfort in consistency, no one wants the same dinner each night or the same song to listen to over and over again.

I can guarantee that even your favorite meal or song will get old after a while. Your community wants to see the best your brand has to offer, and that means variety. An on-brand inspirational quote one day, a fill in the blank the next, and a promo on another all work together to keep your community engaged and responsive.

Remember no one watches their favorite television show because it’s the same episode each time. The story line moves and evolves — so should your social media posts. The more people liking, sharing and commenting on your content the more your posts will show up in their newsfeed, and in turn, multiply your reach.

Simplicity

Is everything you want to say in the first 90 characters of your post? No? Time to make it simpler! People wander off if your message is too long, too complicated, or just too much.

In order to keep the community participating, you need to offer straightforward calls-to-action such as a request to click like, share or comment. Additionally, while it’s great to ask questions, remember to keep it simple. Questions that prompt quick and easy one word answers are always more engaging than those that require a lot of energy to think about.

Photography

Need to add a bit of color, context or creativity to your content? Don’t rely on words — try pictures. It’s clear Facebook is investing in photography, and you should be too. Time and time again we see pictures doing incredibly well when it comes to shares and likes. A visual is sometimes all you need to engage your audience.

Like anything else, don’t oversaturate your community with photos (see Variety above), but including a compelling picture more regularly will boost both engagement and reach.

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

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About The Author

Michelle Barna is the Social Media Communications Director at Deep Focus, she is responsible for leading the team focused on social engagement, social strategy, community interaction, blogger and influencer outreach. Michelle is also an Adjunct Professor at New York University, where she teaches Social Media for Brand Value.